A large crowd at Wembley for England’s friendly with Nigeria. ‘England has fantastic infrastructure, experience and everything else,’ said Aleksander Ceferin.
Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

The chances of England hosting the 2030 World Cup have been vastly improved by transparency around voting for Fifa tournaments and the improved image of the Football Association on the international stage, according to seasoned executives at the world governing body.

The FA is expected to decide whether to push for the 2030 tournament after conducting a feasibility study over the next year. It would almost certainly have the backing of Europe, pending other bids from the continent, with Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, praising the FA chairman, Greg Clarke, for overhauling the “arrogant” image of English football.

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Ceferin was buoyant about England’s ability to host a 48-team tournament. “England has fantastic infrastructure, experience and everything else,” he said. “As much as we are trying to be neutral now we will certainly not be neutral if anyone from Europe bids. Greg Clarke has changed that image very much, he’s travelling around, he’s showing a different face and I think he’s very popular in Europe. The English FA is doing well.”

The FA is understood to have taken encouragement from the transparent voting process for the 2026 World Cup during Fifa’s annual congress in Moscow on Wednesday. Minutes after the United 2026 bid was announced as the winner, a large screen in the room flashed up how every federation had voted. It was a marked contrast to England’s failed campaign in 2010, when they suffered a bruising defeat by Russia and the voting remained hidden amid suspicions of foul play.

Any England bid could also take heart from the voting federations opting for United 2026 as the host. The joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico was vastly superior on technical grounds to that of Morocco, receiving four out of five in a Fifa bid evaluation report, compared with Morocco’s 2.7 out of five.

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David Gill, a Fifa vice-president and former Manchester United chief executive, was encouraged by the new voting process. “What it does is gives great confidence that the procedures in place now are appropriate and relevant,” he said. “If you’ve got a product then it’s up to the company selling that product to actually demonstrate what’s required, review that and then come up with the answer.

“Both bids were very good but if you are four out of five versus 2.7 out of five – what is best for football – the best bid has won.”

Gill said he would relish an English World Cup. “Why wouldn’t you? If you love football, to see it on your doorstep. You look at the assets that we’ve got in England, or the UK, in terms of grounds. Some of the best grounds in world football; the best training grounds. It would be fantastic.”

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A redirection of resources at the FA suggests it is looking at a possible bid for 2030. The director of communications, Rob Sullivan, is to be placed in charge of a bolstered international department and given additional responsibilities. His role is expected to involve managing the seven games at Wembley during Euro 2020, the bid to host the women’s European Championship in 2021 and preparing the ground for a possible World Cup bid. It is understood that the FA will spend the next 12 months assessing the positives and negatives of campaigning to host football’s showpiece for the first time since 1966.

Ceferin suggested teaming up with the home nations for a joint bid would put them in an even stronger position. “It’s always a bit stronger bid with more countries,” he said. “But at the same time if we are talking about England with their infrastructure they can host on their own or with the rest of the UK.”

Any England bid would face opposition from the joint campaign of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. It is also possible there will be an African bid, especially in light of Morocco’s defeat over 2026. If the home nations do not submit a joint bid Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may have the opportunity to vote despite a potential conflict of interest. The Fifa council has discussed amending the rule under which the US-governed territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands were forced into abstaining from voting on Wednesday.